V'^am, 

n a Wall 


THE  JAPANESE  IN 
HAWAII 

A Statistical  Study  Bearing  on  the  Future  Number  and 
Voting  Strength  and  on  the  Economic  and 
Social  Character  of  the  Hawaiian 
Japanese 


by 

Romanzo  Adams 

Professor  of  Economics  and  Sociology, 
University  of  Hawaii 


(PRICE  23  CENTS) 


Published  by 

The  National  Committee  on  American 
Japanese  Relations 

287  Fourth  Avenue 
New  York 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/japaneseinhawaiiOOadam 


INTRODUCTION 


This  Monograph  by  Professor  Romanzo  Adams,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Hawaii,  deserves  careful  consideration  by  all  who 
are  thinking  on  the  future  of  the  Japanese  population  in  the 
United  States,  whether  in  continental  America  or  in  Hawaii. 

Professor  Adams  has  brought  to  the  study  of  this  much 
discussed  question  rare  ability  as  a statistician  and  sociol- 
ogist. He  gives  us  bis  results  and  also  the  basis  on  which 
he  founds  them.  Any  student  who  will  take  the  pains  to 
study  the  tables  here  given  in  full,  can  hardly  fail  to  reach 
the  same  general  conclusions. 

Those  who  have  been  anxious  lest  Hawaii  fall  into  the 
clutches  of  the  Japanese  in  Hawaii  and  ultimately  into  the 
possession  of  the  Japanese  Government,  may  banish  their 
fears  and  anxieties,  for  Professor  Adams  here  proves  the 
fallacy  of  many  alleged  statistics  and  lurid  pictures  based 
upon  them  w^hich  have  been  widely  circulated. 

Professor  Adams’  principal  conclusions  may  be  summed 
up  in  a few  clear-cut  statements. 

1.  Japanese  population  in  Hawaii  has  begun  to  di- 
minish as  compared  with  the  total  population. 

2.  Since  the  Gentlemen’s  Agreement  went  into  effect 
more  Japanese  men  and  children  have  left  Hawaii 
than  have  entered,  over  6,000  of  the  former  and 
nearly  15,000  of  the  latter. 

3.  The  movement  of  Japanese  wives  from  Japan  to 
Hawaii  has  about  ended. 

4.  The  fecundity  of  married  Japanese  women  in 
Hawaii  is  lower  than  that  of  any  other  race-group 
except  Caucasians  from  the  United  States  and 
north  Europe. 

5.  Should  Congress  pass  a law  enabling  Hawaiian 
sugar  planters  to  import  new,  cheap,  illiterate  labor 
immigrants  from  south  Europe  or  from  China, 
Hawaiian-born  Japanese  youth  will  in  all  prob- 
ability migrate  in  large  numbers  to  continental 
United  States,  which  they  have  full  right  to  do. 
being  American  citizens. 


3 


6.  The  numbers  of  voters  in  1941  of  American  citi- 
zens of  Japanese  race  will  probably  be  under  25 
per  cent  of  the  whole  number  of  voters. 

In  addition  to  this  statistical  study  of  the  Japanese 
population  in  Hawaii,  there  is  uro-ent  call  for  two  qualitative 
studies  such  as  have  been  conducted  in  California  by  Rev. 
Paul  B.  Waterhouse  and  Professor  M.  L.  Darsie. 

Mr.  Waterhouse  secured  replies  from  over  2,000  Japanese 
children  and  young  people  in  the  public  schools  of  California 
to  a questionnaire  on  their  personal  interests  and  purposes. 
He  found  that  two-thirds  of  them  were  attending  Protestant 
Sunday  Schools ; thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  entire  number 
declared  themselves  Christian,  while  nineteen  per  cent  said 
they  were  Buddhist.  The  American  patriotism  of  these  young 
people  was  manifested  in  many  striking  assertions. 

Professor  Darsie  has  reported  an  “Intelligence  Test”  given 
in  English  to  568  children  of  Japanese  race.  The  average 

I.  0.  proved  to  be  90.2  For  purposes  of  comparison  the  I.  Q. 
of  several  immigrant  groups  in  America  is  given ; namely. 
North  European.  100.3;  Finn,  90.0;  South  Italian,  77.5. 

The  writer  of  this  introductory  note  believes  that  the 
time  has  come  for  a radical  change  in  the  matter  of  immigra- 
tion from  Japan  and  of  treatment  of  Japanese  in  the  United 
States. 

1.  On  the  part  of  Japan  it  would  be  well  to  stop  forth- 
with all  further  immigration  to  the  United  States 
of  the  laboring  classes,  both  skilled  and  unskilled. 

The  number  of  Japanese  families  in  Hawaii  and  on 
the  West  Coast,  though  comparatively  small  and 
of  a relatively  high  order  of  intelligence  and  virtue, 
constitutes  a serious  problem  in  assimilation  and 
Americanization.  Two  or  three  decades  will  prob- 
ably be  needed  to  find  out  how  fully  the  present 
Japanese  population  can  be  wholesomely  incorpo- 
rated into  our  body  politic. 

2.  The  Japanese  government  should  also  take  steps 
at  once  to  abolish  the  dual  citizenship  of  Japanese 
children  born  in  the  United  States.  Their  Japanese 
citizenship  is  of  no  possible  advantage  to  Japan  and 
is  fraught  with  serious  hardships  for  the  children 
and  with  grave  dangers  of  international  irritation. 

3.  On  the  part  of  the  United  States  it  would  be  well 
to  arrange  at  once  for  the  abrogation  of  the  Gentle- 
men’s Agreement  and  the  enactment  of  a treaty 
stopping  further  Japanese  immigration  of  the  labor- 


4 


ing  classes,  whether  skilled  or  unskilled,  annulling 
dual  citizenship  and  granting  most  favored  nation 
treatment  to  all  Japanese  lawfully  in  the  United 
States. 

4.  The  United  States  should  also  amend  the  present 
law  of  naturalization,  raising  the  standard  and 
giving  privileges  of  citizenship  to  every  individual 
who  will  personally  qualify,  regardless  of  race  or 
nationality. 

5.  For  Congress  to  enact  a Japanese  exclusion  law 
or  pass  any  discriminatory  legislation  inevitably 
humiliating  to  Japan  would  be  a serious  mistake 
and  utterly  needless.  It  would  contravene  the 
Gentlemen’s  Agreement,  ignore  its  moral  signifi- 
cance and  repudiate  its  spirit  of  mutual  friendship 
and  confidence.  The  ends  in  view,  moreover,  can 
be  secured  in  friendly  conference,  each  taking  into 
full  consideration  the  viewpoints  and  the  needs  of 
the  other. 

The  constructive  measures  advocated  above  would  re- 
move the  one  remaining  cloud  that  rests  on  our  common 
horizon,  and  do  much  to  promote  friendship,  goodwill  and  co- 
operation for  the  permanent  peace  of  the  Pacific. 

SIDNEY  L.  GULICK. 


lanuarv  l.S.  1924. 


The  Japanese  Population  in  Hawaii* 


INSTABILITY  has  been  a prominent  characteristic  of  the  popula- 
tion of  Hawaii  for  at  least  a half  century.  The  great  decrease 
in  the  native  Hawaiian  population  and  its  partial  amalgama- 
tion with  Caucasian  and  Asiatic  elements,  the  importation  of 
laborers  from  many  countries,  the  rapid  increase  by  births 
of  some  foreign  peoples,  and  the  departure  of  many  laborers 
to  the  mainland  of  the  United  States  and  of  others  to  their 
native  lands,  are  some  of  the  oustanding  facts.  Considerable 
interest  attaches  to  the  question  of  Hawaii’s  future  popula- 
tion. Doubtless  migration  to  and  from  the  Territory  will 
eventually  be  a less  important  factor  and  population  will 
become  more  stable.  What  will  this  population  be? 

Just  now  the  prediction  is  frequently  made  that,  unless 
some  special  device  be  introduced  to  prevent  it,  the  Japanese 
will  soon  be  the  majority  of  Hawaii’s  population.  The  fol- 
lowing statistical  study  is  made  in  order  to  help  the  reader 
to  form  a just  opinion  as  to  the  probable  outcome  of  present 
tendencies  and  forces.  The  period  under  consideration,  so 
far  as  the  definite  forecast  is  concerned,  extends  to  1941.  The 
term  “Japanese”  as  used  herein  includes,  unless  otherwise 
specified,  all  persons  of  Japanese  descent,  both  native  and 
foreign  born,  and  the  terms  Chinese,  Portuguese,  Filipino,  etc. 
are  used  similarly.  The  term  American  and  north  European 
means  American,  British,  German,  and  a few  others,  and 
corresponds  to  “other  Caucasian”  as  used  in  the  census. 

I.  Growth  of  the  Population  in  Hawaii  by 
Racial  Elements  (1872-1923) 

SUGAR  production  has  been  carried  on  for  a long  time  in  Hawaii, 
but  not  until  it  was  given  a duty  free  market  in  the  United 
States  by  the  reciprocity  treaty  of  1876  did  it  dominate  the 
economic  life  of  the  Island.  Table  A shows  the  growth  of 
the  various  population  elements  from  1872  to  the  present  year. 
The  figures  for  1923  are  the  estimates  of  the  Territorial  Bureau 
of  Vital  Statistics,  and  they  are  very  accurate  estimates  be- 


* Portions  of  this  monograph  have  already  been  published  in  Foreign 
Affairs,  December,  1923.  Permission  has  been  granted  for  reprinting 
these  portions  in  this  pamphlet. 


6 


cause  arrivals  and  departures  as  well  as  births  and  deaths 
are  matters  of  record  and  publicity. 

The  Hawaiian  born  children  of  foreigners  in  1896  are 
classified  as  follows:  American,  820;  British,  712;  German, 
520;  Norwegian,  162;  French,  26;  (total  American  and  North 
European,  2240);  Portuguese,  6959;  Chinese  2234;  Japanese, 
2078;  all  others,  222. 

The  Chinese,  the  first  of  the  labor  groups  to  be  brought 
to  Hawaii,  reached  their  highest  relative  numbers  in  1896, 
when  they  constituted  17.8  per  cent  of  the  population  as  com- 
pared with  7.9  per  cent  in  1923.  The  Japanese,  coming  more 
recently,  reached  their  highest  relative  number  in  1920,  when 
they  constituted  42.7  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the  Terri- 
tory. Since  that  date  their  percentage  has  decreased  as  fol- 
lows: 1921,  41.6  per  cent;  1922,  41.1  per  cent;  1923,  40.4  per 
cent.  The  number  of  adult  male  Japanese,  both  Hawaiian 
and  foreign  born,  decreased  from  41,795  in  1910  to  36,548  in 
1920,  and  further  decreases  will  characterize  the  present 
decade. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  recent  rapid  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  Filipinos.  The  very  recent  increase  in  “other  Cauca- 
sians” is  explained  mainly  by  the  coming  of  men  in  armb- 
and navy  service. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  approximate  equality  of  the  sexes 
of  laborers  brought  from  Portugal,  Spain  and  Porto  Rico, 
and  to  the  marked  inequality  in  the  case  of  the  Chinese, 
Japanese,  Koreans  and  Filipinos,  especially  in  the  earlier  years 
of  each  movement.  Note  that  since  1900  the  Japanese  have 
been  approaching  sex  equality  and,  in  a smaller  degree,  the 
Chinese  also,  while  the  same  tendency  is  manifest  in  the  case 
of  the  Filipino  since  1910.  The  men  come  first,  then  the 
women,  and  then  children  multiply. 


7 


TABLE  A 

POPULATION  OF  HAWAII  BY  NATIONALITY  FOR  VARIOl ; 


1872 

1878 

1884 

1890 

Male 

Female 

Total 

Both 

Sexes 

Male 

Female 

Total 

Male 

Female 

To 

NativeHawaiianRace 

26,130 

22,914 

49,044 

44,088 

21,504 

18,510 

40,014 

18,364 

16,072 

34. 

6. 

C'aucasian-Havvaiian . 

\ 1,225 

1 

1,262 

2,487 

3,420 

2,119 

2,099 

4,218 

3,085 

3,101 

Asiatic-Hawaiian .... 

Portuguese^ 

367 

28 

395 

436 

5,239 

4,138 

9,377 

4,770 

3,832 

8,( 

Porto  Rican'  . 

Spanisli* 

Other  Caucasian'. . . . 

1,336 

484 

1,820 

2,512 

3,446 

2,056 

5,.502 

3,210 

1,393 

4,f 

Chine.«e' 

1,831 

107 

1,938 

5,916 

17,068 

871 

17,939 

14,522 

779 

15,3 

Japanese' 

98 

18 

116 

10,079 

2.281 

12,3 

Korean' 

Filipinnl 

7,4 

Hawaiian-born  chil- 
dren of  Foreigners. . 

418 

431 

849 

947 

1,068 

972 

2,040 

3,909 

3,580 

All  others' 

343 

21 

364 

666 

997 

375 

1,372 

775 

232 

1,0 

Total 

31,650 

25,247 

56,897 

57,985 

51,539 

29,039 

80,578 

58,714 

31,276 

89,9 

* From  1872  to  and  including  1896  the  numbers  of  all  racial  groups  except  Native  Hawaiins  and  part  Hawai 
^ Estimates  necessary  because  of  certain  differences  in  the  classifications  in  the  Census  of  1900.  Data  suffici 

* Estimate  of  Hawaiian  Bureau  of  Vital  Statistics  based  on  arrivals  and  departures  and  births  and  deaths  si) 


8 


(CNSUS  DATES,  BEGINNING  WITH  1872,  AND  FOR  JUNE  30,  1923 


1890 

1900 

1910 

1920 

June  30, 
1923 

ale 

Female 

Total 

Male 

Female 

Total 

Male 

Female 

Total 

Male 

Female 

Total 

Both 

Sexes 

399 

14,620 

31,019 

15,642 

14,1.57 

29,799 

13,439 

12,602 

26,041 

11,990 

11,733 

23,723 

21,468 

249 

4,236 

8,485 

f 3,4()02 

; 

3,4392 

6,8992 

4,438 

4,334 

8,772 

5,528 

.5,544 

11,072 

12,514 

1 1,5582 

1,4002 

2,9.582 

1,812 

1,922 

3,734 

3,524 

3,431 

6,955 

7,374 

596 

3,636 

8,232 

9,7852 

8,4872 

18,2722 

11, .571 

10,730 

22,.301 

13,737 

13,26.5 

27,002 

26,397 

2,878 

2,012 

4,890 

3,133 

2,469 

5,602 

6,375 

1,078 

912 

1,990 

1,326 

1,104 

2,130 

2,105 

133 

1,574 

.5,007 

5,6992 

2,8482 

8,5472 

9,255 

5,612 

14,867 

12,309 

7,399 

19,708 

35,774 

1 163 

1,419 

19,.382 

22,296 

3,471 

2.5,767 

17,148 

4,526 

21,674 

16,197 

7 .310 

23,.507 

23,714 

1 ,58 

4,171 

22,329 

47,.508 

13,603 

61,111 

54,784 

24,891 

79,675 

62,644 

46,630 

109,274 

120,590 

3,931 

602 

4,533 

3,498 

1,452 

4,9.50 

5,608 

2,160 

201 

2,361 

16,851 

4,180 

21,031 

36,199 

58 

6,675 

13,733 

1 

1 

> 

1 

1 

1 

61 

172 

833 

421 

227 

648 

605 

466 

1,071 

409 

249 

658 

402 

7 17 

36,503 

109,020 

106,369 

47,632 

154,001 

123,099 

68,810 

191,909 

151,146 

104,766 

255,912 

298,520 

r I >r  foreign  born  only;  i goo- 1 923  the  children  of  the  various  nationalities  are  classed  with  their  parents, 
o ike  close  estimates  possible. 

>1  s of  1920. 


9 


II.  Japanese  Steerage  Travel 
A.  Between  Japan  and  Hawaii 

STEERAGE  passenger  travel  of  Japanese  between  Hawaii  and 
Japan  (Table  B)  and  between  Hawaii  and  California  (Table 
C)  affords  some  information  as  to  the  movement  of  popula- 
tion, but  it  must  be  remembered  that  many  travellers  were 
round  trip  passengers  and  that  they  do  not  represent  gain 
or  loss  of  population.  Japanese  travel,  other  than  steerage, 
has  been  small,  and  a considerable  part  of  it  of  the  round  trip 
variety. 

There  are  three  sources  of  passenger  statistics : the  reports 
of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Immigration;  Japanese  governmental 
sources;  and  the  records  of  steerage  arrivals  and  departures 
kept  by  the  Hawaiian  Sugar  Planters’  Association.  The 
figures  of  no  two  are  comparable  for  the  following  reasons ; 
the  Bureau  of  Immigration  classifies  Hawaiian  born  Japanese 
as  Americans,  while  the  Japanese  government  classifies  them 
as  Japanese.  The  Planters’  Association  follows  the  method 
of  the  Japanese  government,  but  it  includes  only  steerage 
passengers.  Year  by  year  comparisons  are  further  invalidated 
by  considerations  of  time.  Passengers  may  leave  Japan  near 
tfie  end  of  one  year  and  reach  Hawaii  near  the  beginning  of 
the  next.  With  due  allowance  for  all  such  factors,  it  seems 
probable  that  all  three  sets  of  figures  are  approximately  in 
harmony  with  each  other.  The  Hawaiian  Sugar  Planters’ 
•Association  figures  have  been  kept  carefull}’-  and  have  re- 
ceived official  publication.  I have  used  them  because  they 
give  children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  a separate  classifica- 
tion, and  this  shows  the  character  of  the  movement  more  ade- 
quately. 

•Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  before  1908  the  num- 
ber of  women  arriving  was  less  than  a fifth  the  number  of 
men,  but  that  arrivals  of  women  have  exceeded  departures 
almost  constantly  since  that  date.  From  1908  to  1920  the 
arrivals  consisted  most  largely  of  wives  whose  husbands  had 
preceded  them  and  of  young  women  who  came  to  become 
brides — the  “picture  brides.”  More  recently  the  arrivals  con- 
sist mainly  of  Japanese  women  returning  from  a visit  to  Japan 
and  of  Hawaiian  born  young  women  who,  as  children,  were 
sent  to  Japan  to  be  educated.  It  is  probable  that  departures 
of  women  will  exceed  arrivals  for  the  present  decade. 

The  men  who  arrived  after  1908  were  mainly  men  return- 
ing from  a visit  in  Japan,  but  there  were  some  immigrants, 
mainly  sons,  over  16  years  old.  of  Japanese  in  Hawaii.  There 
were  some  Hawaiian  born  males  who  had  been  sent  to  Japan 
as  children  and  who  returned  classified  as  men.  About  a 


10 


TABLE  B 


JAPANESE  STEERAGE  PASSENGER  TRAVEL  BETWEEN 
HAWAII  AND  JAPAN 


Arrivals  in  Hawaii 
FRO.M  Japan 

Departures  to  Japan 
FROM  Hawaii 

Differences 

Ye.\r 

Men 

Wom- 

en 

Chil- 

dren 

Men 

Wom- 

en 

Chil- 

dren 

Men 

Wom- 

en 

Chil- 

dren 

Net 

1868 

148 

1885-94* 

21,881 

5,191 

133 

4,507 

957 

101 

17,374 

4,234 

32 

21,640 

1894-97^ 

17,839 

4,041 

Data  w 

anting 

1898-1904 

61^670 

8il38 

Data  w 

anting 

19053 

5;447 

567 

55 

1,658 

687 

873 

3,789 

— 120 

-818 

2,851 

1906 

17,007 

1,113 

67 

1,676 

728 

951 

15,331 

385 

-884 

14,832 

1907 

11,940 

2,877 

158 

1,810 

692 

986 

10,130 

2,185 

-828 

11,487 

1908 

2,369 

1,700 

133 

1,804 

678 

972 

565 

1,022 

-839 

748 

1909 

385 

849 

76 

1,581 

617 

912 

-1,196 

232 

-836 

-1,800 

1910 

507 

1,182 

87 

1,720 

717 

1,026 

-1,213 

465 

-939 

-1,687 

1911< 

341“ 

788“ 

57“ 

829“ 

351“ 

488“ 

-488“ 

437“ 

-431“ 

-482 

1912 

1,270 

2,019 

176 

1,787 

742 

911 

-517 

1,277 

-735 

25 

1913 

2,005 

2,637 

346 

1,832 

760 

911 

173 

1,877 

-565 

1,485 

1914 

1,724 

2,504 

296 

1,921 

798 

1,021 

-197 

1,706 

-725 

784 

1915 

1,140 

1,745 

231 

1,655 

739 

992 

-515 

1,006 

-761 

-270 

1916 

1,841 

2,008 

259 

1,422 

706 

866 

419 

1,302 

-607 

1,114 

1917 

1,758 

1,935 

297 

1,680 

668 

1,040 

78 

1,267 

-743 

602 

1918 

1,629 

1,966 

235 

2,281 

878 

1,514 

-652 

1,088 

-1,279 

-843 

1919 

1,613 

1,909 

380 

2,122 

1,244 

1,617 

-509 

665 

-1,237 

-1,081 

1920 

1,483 

1,721 

356 

2,369 

1,389 

1,783 

-886 

332 

-1,427 

-1,981 

1921 

1,670 

1,552 

432 

2,769 

1,724 

2,064 

-1,099 

-172 

-1,632 

-2,903 

1922 

2,179 

1,730 

527 

2,576 

1,686 

1,839 

-397 

44 

-1,312 

-1,665 

1923 

1,442 

1,440 

551 

1,640 

1,072 

1,173 

-198 

368 

-622 

-452 

1908-23 

23,356 

27,685 

4,439 

29,988 

14,769 

19,129 

-6,632 

12,916 

- 14,690 

-8,406 

' Report  of  Board  of  Labor  and  Immigration,  1894. 

’Data  of  arrivals  and  departures  for  the  years  1894-1904  very  incomplete.  The  figures  are  of  pass- 
ports issued  in  Japan.  Actual  arrivals  were  fewer. 

’ Data  for  1905-1915  are  from  the  Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Immigration  and  Statistics,  and 
data  for  1916-1922  are  from  the  Governor’s  annual  reports. 

’Before  191 1,  the  calendar  year  is  meant;  1911  is  a half  year  ending  June  30,  1911,  and  the  later 
dates  refer  to  fiscal  years  ending  June  30. 


n 


TABLE  C 


JAPANESE  STEERAGE  PASSENGER  TRAVEL  BETWEEN 
HAWAII  AND  CONTINENTAL  UNITED  STATES 


Ye.5U 

Aurivals  from  the 
United  States 

Departures  to  the 
United  States 

Differences 

Men 

Wom- 
en ■ 

Chil- 

dren 

Men 

Wom- 

en 

Chil- 

dren 

Men 

Wom- 

en 

Chil- 

dren 

1885-94 

692 

20 

1905‘ 

Vo 

— proba 

bly 

8,657 

712 

281 

1906 

few 

if  any 

11 ',047 

794 

386 

1907 

ar 

rivals. 

5' 149 

198 

91 

1908 

' 45 

17 

7 

1909 

16 

7 

5 

1910 

31 

8 

3 

191P 

4 

13 

5 

4 

-9 

— 5 

-4 

-18 

1912’ 

32 

0 

42 

6 

-10 

-4 

-14 

1913 

25 

1 

1 

37 

3 

2 

-12 

—2 

-1 

-15 

1914 

31 

2 

5 

36 

2 

-5 

0 

0 

0 

1915 

51 

8 

5 

53 

5 

5 

-2 

3 

1 

1916 

71 

11 

5 

68 

5 

1 

3 

6 

4 

13 

1917 

40 

4 

52 

8 

-12 

-4 

-16 

1918 

47 

3 

6 

58 

5 

-11 

-2 

6 

— 7 

1919 

34 

12 

4 

174 

30 

12 

-140 

-18 

-8 

— 166 

1920 

57 

9 

5 

299 

67 

24 

-242 

-58 

-19 

-319 

1921 

63 

11 

5 

183 

56 

73 

-120 

-45 

-68 

-233 

1922 

44 

8 

3 

28 

9 

2 

16 

-1 

1 

16 

1923 

50 

11 

7 

104 

9 

4 

-54 

2 

3 

-49 

1911-23 

549 

82 

46 

1,147 

210 

127 

-598 

-128 

-81 

-807 

‘ 1905-10  calendar  years. 


“1911  half  year  ending  June  50. 


1912-23  fiscal  year  ending  June  30. 


12 


third  of  the  men  who  departed  were  returning  to  Japan  for 
permanent  residence,  and  those  who  were  married  took  their 
wives  and  children.  Most  children  going  to  Japan  in  this 
way  do  not  return  to  Hawaii. 

The  children  who  arrived  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago  were 
mainly  foreign  born  children  coming  to  join  their  fathers. 
More  recently  they  are  children  returning  from  a visit  to 
Japan  or  from  a more  extended  trip  for  educational  purposes. 

B.  Between  Hawaii  and  Continental  America 

Two  things  relative  to  the  departures  for  the  mainland 
(Table  C)  challenge  the  attention:  (1)  The  very  heavy  move- 
ment before  1907  (the  date  of  the  (jentlemen’s  Agreement) 
and  its  negligible  and  nearly  balanced  character  after  that 
date;  (2)  A beginning  of  a revival  of  the  movement  in  1918 
— this  latter  movement  being  one  of  Hawaiian  born  Japanese 
and  of  Japanese  naturalized  as  a result  of  service  in  the  war. 

The  numbers  are  not  large  yet,  but  they  are  large  relative 
to  the  total  number  eligible  to  go — that  is,  to  the  number  able 
to  prove  their  citizenship  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  immigra- 
tion authorities.  Probably  from  20  to  25  per  cent  of  those 
eligible  have  gone  to  the  mainland,  and  the  movement  will 
grow  as  the  children  reach  maturity  in  larger  numbers.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  comparatively  few  Hawaiian  born 
Japanese  have  reached  adult  years. 

III.  Laborers  on  Sugar  Plantations 

A STUDY  of  Table  D in  connection  with  the  two  preceding  will 
show  that  the  quest  for  plantation  labor  has  been  the  chief 
factor  in  bringing  the  various  foreigners  to  Hawaii  and  that 
the  representatives  of  all  nationalities  tend  to  leave  the  planta- 
tions almost  constantly,  thus  creating  a need  for  constant 
new  importations.  For  example,  from  1880  to  1890  about  33  per 
cent  of  the  Chinese  were  plantation  laborers,  and  now  only 
about  6 per  cent.  In  1901,  nearly  45  per  cent  of  the  Japanese 
were  plantation  laborers,  now  only  13  per  cent. 

The  Filipinos,  who  were  brought  first  in  1908,  constituted 
5 per  cent  of  all  sugar  plantation  laborers  in  1910,  30  per 
cent  in  1920  and  47  per  cent  in  1923.  Counting  men  only,  the 
Filipinos  exceed  the  Japanese  by  more  than  7,000.  But  now 
the  Filipinos  are  beginning  to  come  to  the  towns  and  cities, 
and  about  a thousand  went  to  California  last  year.  The  total 
number  of  laborers  employed  on  sugar  plantations  is  about 
the  same  as  it  was  twenty  years  ago. 


13 


TABLE  D 


LABORERS  EMPLOYED  ir 


July 

31 

June 

30 

June 

30 

r 

1882 

1886 

1888 

1890 

1892 

1894 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1901 

1902 

1904 

1905 

1906 

Americans  and 
North  Europeans 

834 

379 

409 

466 

483 

526 

658 

514 

674 

Inc’d 

in 

'other' 

979 

1,098 

1,082 

Hawaiian  and 
Part  Hawaiian . . 

2,575 

2,255 

2,062 

1,873 

1,717 

1.903 

1,615 

1,497 

1,482 

1,326 

1,470 

1,493 

1,312 

1,687 

1,604 

Portuguese,  Porto- 
R\can  and  Spanish 

637 

3,081 

3,132 

3,017 

2.526 

2,177 

2,268 

2,218 

2,064 

2,153 

4,512 

4,705 

4,942 

4,920 

5,303 

31 

Chinese 

5,037 

5,626 

5,727 

4,517 

2,617 

2,784 

6,289 

8,114 

7,200 

5,969 

4,976 

3,937 

3,738 

4,138 

3,684 

Japanese 

15 

1,949 

3,299 

7,560 

13,019 

13,684 

12,893 

12,068 

16,786 

25,654 

27,537 

31,029 

32,331 

28,406 

26,218 

2.435 

4,946 

3,615 

All  others 

1.145 

1,249 

1,358 

928 

248 

280 

232 

230 

389 

371 

418 

1,078 

83 

48 

19 

Total . . . . 

10,243 

14,539 

15,578 

17,895 

20,536 

21,294 

23,780 

24,653 

28,579 

35,987 

39,587 

42,242 

45,820 

45,243 

41,525 

4- 

The  statistics  for  1882-1899  are  taken  from  the  Reports  of  the  Board  of  Immigration  and  Labor. 

From  1901  to  1917  the  statistics  are  taken  from  the  1917  Report  of  the  Governor,  and  those  of  1922  from  th  te 


14 


UGAR  PLANTATIONS  1882-1923 


une 

June 

June 

June 

May 

May 

May 

April 

April 

Anril 

June 

June 

June 

June 

May 

June 

30 

30 

30 

30 

31 

31 

30 

30 

30 

30 

30 

30 

30 

30 

30 

30 

908 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

1917 

1918 

1919 

1920 

1921 

1922 

1923 

970 

1,000 

1,084 

899 

940 

738 

700 

733 

778 

765 

743 

779 

893 

895 

942 

1,100 

1.309 

1,454 

1,339 

1..522 

1,297 

991 

968 

964 

940 

886 

982 

943 

1,322 

1,027 

966 

700 

>,546 

6,487 

6,290 

6,903 

7,650 

6,894 

6,800 

6,607 

5,929 

5,413 

4.934 

4,783 

4,821 

3,949 

3,420 

3,300 

:,916 

3,561 

2,761 

2,758 

2.744 

2..561 

2.229 

2,208 

1,997 

2,129 

1,895 

1,908 

2,378 

1,586 

1,487 

1,500 

,771 

26,875 

28,106 

27,582 

28,123 

24,711 

24,732 

24,807 

23,870 

24,696 

24,611 

24,791 

19,474 

17,446 

16,992 

16,000 

,125 

2,229 

1.752 

1,771 

1,668 

1..387 

1,392 

1.499 

1,307 

1,352 

1,299 

1,407 

1,982 

1,150 

1,170 

1,000 

141 

86 

2,269 

3,331 

4,630 

8,009 

8,912 

8,549 

8,845 

9,459 

9,964 

10,354 

13,061 

12.271 

18,189 

21.000 

140 

10 

316 

279 

283 

309 

310 

337 

295 

300 

280 

266 

373 

383 

236 

225 

.918 

41,702 

43,917 

45,048 

47.335 

45,600 

46,043 

45,704 

43,961 

45,000 

44,708 

45,231 

44.304 

38,707 

43,402 

44,825 

> of  that  year.  The  Hawaiian  Annual  supplied  the  figures  for  1918-21.  The  figures  for  1923  are  estimates. 


IS 


IV.  Births  and  Deaths 


The  birth  rate  is  important  in  relation  to  future  population. 

It  depends  mainly  on  two  things ; ( 1 ) The  relative  number 

of  married  women  of  child-bearing  age ; (2)  The  fecundity  of 
the  women,  which  is  partly  a racial,  but  chiefly  an  economic 
and  social,  class  characteristic. 

No  forecast  of  future  population  of  Hawaii  as  aflFected  by 
birth  rates  will  be  valuable  unless  it  is  based  on  a careful 
study  of  the  age-sex  distribution  of  the  various  national 
groups. 

Table  E shows  the  abnormal  age  distribution  of  the 
women  of  the  various  groups,  especially  of  the  Japanese,  who 
are  relatively  numerous  at  20-44  years  of  age.  There  are  few 
old  women  and  few  girls  10-20  years  of  age.  The  age  distribu- 
tion of  the  Japanese  women  is  at  present  unusually  favor- 
able to  a high  birth  rate — more  favorable  than  it  will  ever 
be  again.  Before  1930  the  age  distribution  will  shift  in  such 
a way  as  to  result  in  a measurable  decrease  in  the  birth  rate. 

The  decade  1910-1920  was  for  the  Japanese  in  Hawaii  a 
period  of  getting  wives.  Before  1907  the  great  majority  of 
the  men  who  came  from  Japan  were  unmarried  and  many  of 
the  married  men  left  their  wives  in  Japan.  Commonly  the 
men  came  with  the  intention  of  remaining  only  a few  years 
in  Hawaii.  The  application  of  the  provisions  of  the  Gentle- 
men’s Agreement  to  Hawaii  had  the  effect  of  stabilizing 
the  Japanese  population  of  the  Territory,  and  many  of  the 
men,  when  they  decided  to  prolong  their  stay,  sent  for  their 
wives  or  for  women  to  become  their  wives — the  “picture 
brides.”  The  coming  of  the  women  has  been  an  important 
movement  and  it  is  practically  completed.  The  Japanese  men 
of  Hawaii  are  now  married  in  higher  ratio  than  are  the  men 
of  any  other  racial  group.  The  demand  for  wives  and  brides 
has  been  supplied.  “Picture  bride”  arrivals  since  the  date 
of  the  Gentlemen’s  Agreement  have  been  as  follows: 


1907 

466 

1915 

1050 

1908 

755 

1916 

909 

1909 

436 

1917 

985 

1910 

658 

1918 

1017 

1911 

865 

1919 

848 

1912 

1285 

1920 

676 

1913 

1572 

1921 

529 

1914 

1407 

1922 

555 

1923 

263 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  Japanese  married  women 
1910-20,  as  shown  by  Table  F,  was  much  greater  than  that 


16 


TABLE  E 


AGE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  PEOPLES  OF  HAWAII  CLASSIFIED 
BY  NATIONALITY  AND  SEX— CENSUS  1920 


Males 

Females 

Under 
10  Yrs. 
of  Age 

10-19 
Yrs. 
of  Age 

20-49 
Yrs. 
of  Age 

50  Yrs. 
of  Age 
or  Over 

Under 
10  Yrs. 
of  Age 

10-19 
Yrs.  of 
Age 

20-44 
Yrs. 
of  Age 

45  Yrs. 
of  Age 
or  Over 

Ibiwaiian  and  Part  Hawaiian 

6,300 

4,409 

7,709 

2,610 

6,132 

4,.531 

7,079 

2,9.55 

Portugues(? 

4,591 

3,260 

4,628 

1,253 

4,423 

3,280 

4,167 

1,388 

Porto  Rican 

914 

666 

1,254 

295 

868 

676 

678 

246 

Spanish 

473 

318 

409 

126 

382 

301 

328 

93 

Other  Caucasian* 

1,391 

1,953 

7,2.54 

1,797 

1,194 

937 

3,672 

1,589 

Chinese 

2,731 

2,054 

6,354 

5,048 

2,668 

1,822 

2,231 

578 

Japanese 

16,394 

8,915 

.30,208 

7,111 

15,919 

7,.564 

19,588 

.3,653 

Korean 

607 

201 

2,178 

502 

558 

217 

5.50 

137 

Filipino 

1,570 

980 

13,932 

357 

1,.541 

499 

2,027 

112 

All  Other 

96 

53 

174 

86 

87 

79 

58 

2,5 

'I'otal 

35,073 

22,809 

74,100 

19,185 

.33,772 

19,906 

40,378 

10,776 

'Indudos  a considerable  number  of  men  in  military  and  naval  service. 


TABLE  F 

SOME  STATISTICS  OF  MARITAL  CONDITIONS  OF  THE  PEOPLE 

OF  HAWAII 


Married 

Women 

1910 

Married 

Women 

1920 

Increase  in 
the  Decade 
1910-20 

Married 
Women 
Under  45 
Yrs.  of  Age 
1920 

Single 

Males 

1.5-45 

Yrs.  of  Ago 
1920 

Hawaiian  and  Part  Hawaiian,  . 

Portuguese 

Porto  Rican 

Spanish 

.American  and  North  European . 

Chinese 

Korean 

Japanese 

Filipino 

•\11  Other 

7,792 
4,059 
904 
351 
2,200 
1 ,555 
295 
13,970 

} { 

8,314 

4,775 

956 

411 

3,310 

2,416 

681 

22,373 

2,246 

68 

522 

716 

52 

60 

1,110 

861 

.386 

8,40.3 

1 2,053  1 

6,.302 

3,851 

780 

336 

2,487 

2,005 

578 

19,204 

2,1.56 

68 

4,047 
2,610 
581 
446 
8,0.50 
2,793 
1,015 
11,521 
9 932 
(est.)  86 

Total 

31,387 

45,5.50 

14,163 

.37,767 

41,081 

.Ml,  exclusive  of  the  Japanese.  . . 

17,417 

23,177 

5,760 

18, .563 

29,.560 

17 


of  all  the  other  nationalities  combined,  and  in  1920  they 
constituted  nearly  half  of  all  married  women  and  over  half 
of  all  married  women  under  45  years  of  age.  Excepting  the 
-\mericans  and  I'ilipinos,  the  number  of  unmarried  boys  and 
men  15-44  years  of  age  in  1920  indicates  the  approximate 
ratio  of  marriages  in  the  decade  1920-30.  In  this  decade  the 
number  of  married  Japanese  women  under  45  years  of  age 
may  be  expected  to  fall  from  51  per  cent  to  about  44  per  cent 
of  the  whole  number  of  married  women  of  this  age,  and  the 
ratio  of  births  will  be  reduced  correspondingly. 

Since  July  1,  1912,  a record  of  marriages  by  nationally 
has  been  kept  for  all  but  three  years.  The  Bureau  of  Immi- 
gration has  the  record  of  arrival  of  “picture  brides.” 
Table  G shows  that  during  the  time  when  “picture 
bride”  arrivals  were  most  numerous,  1912-1914,  the  Japanese 
marriages  constituted  57.1  per  cent  of  all  marriages.  More 
recently,  with  the  reduction  in  “picture  bride”  arrivals,  38.8 
per  cent  are  Japanese.  Basing  the  estimate  mainly  on  the 
number  of  young  men  and  boys  who  are  or  will  be  marriage- 
able by  1930,  I would  say  that  this  percentage  will  decrease 
still  further. 

Invalid  conclusions  are  frequently  drawn  because  crude 
birth  rate  is  confused  with  fecundity.  In  a society  of  normal 
age-sex-marital  distribution,  the  crude  birth  rate  does  indi- 
cate pretty  accurately  the  fecundity,  but  this  is  not  true 
under  the  special  conditions  in  Hawaii.  Where  the  purpose 
is  to  forecast  long  run  tendencies,  the  fecundity,  as  measured 
by  the  refined  birth  rate, — the  rate  based  on  the  number  of 
married  women  under  45  years  of  age — is  the  important  thing. 
In  Table  H both  the  crude  and  the  refined  birth  rates  are 
given.  The  refined  rate  can  be  computed  for  census  years 
only. 

Three  observations  should  be  made  on  the  figures  given 
in  Table  H. 

(1)  The  low  crude  birth  rate  of  the  Filipinos  is  explained 
by  the  fewness  of  Filipino  women.  (See  table  of  age-sex- 
distribution.) 

(2)  The  fecundity  of  the  Japanese  women  is  lower  than 
that  of  any  other  group  but  the  American  and  north  European. 
This  is  contrary  to  popular  opinion  but  is  well  attested  by 
the  statistical  data. 

(3)  The  corresponding  data  for  the  various  foreign  born 
nationalities  in  the  United  States  are  not  available,  but  there 
is  reason  for  believing  that  both  the  fecundity  and  the  crude 
birth  rate  are  higher  for  the  recent  immigrants  from  southern 
and  eastern  Europe  than  for  the  Japanese  in  Hawaii. 

The  death  rate  is.  of  course,  a factor  in  determining  the 


18 


TABLE  G 

NUMBER  OF  MARRIAGES  IN  HAWAII  FOR  CERTAIN 
FISCAL  YEARS  ENDING  JUNE  30 


1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

1917 

1918 

1919 

1920 

1921 

1922 

1923 

Japanese  Men  Marry  Japanese 
Women 

1,844 

1,806 

1,409 

1,305 

1,263 

No  d 

ata 

62P 

683> 

1,007 

Japanese  Men  Marry  non-Jap- 
anese Women 

12 

6 

4 

9 

13 

No  d 

ata 

13 

9 

14 

Japanese  Women  Marry  non- 
Japanese  Men 

6 

2 

1 

3 

6 

No  d 

ata 

12 

14 

15 

Number  of  “Picture  Bride” 
Arrivals 

1,572 

1,407 

1,050 

909 

985 

1,017 

848 

676 

529 

555 

263 

All  Marriages  in  Territory 

3,231 

3,149 

2,730 

2,716 

2,762 

2,572‘ 

2,015‘ 

2,075> 

2,2681 

2,362‘ 

2,594 

All  Marriages  E.xcept  Those  in 
which  both  Parties  were 
Japanese 

1,387 

1,343 

1,321 

1,411 

1,499 

No  d 

ata 

1,647 

1,679 

1,587 

Percentage  of  Japanese  to  All . . 

57.0 

57.3 

51.6 

48.0 

45.7 

38.8 

‘ The  total  number  of  marriages,  ipiS-ig^a.  and  the  number  of  marriages  of  Japanese,  1921  and  1922, 
are  not  comparable  to  the  figures  for  other  years  since,  during  these  years,  the  “picture  brides”  were  not 
required  to  be  married  in  Hawaii  and  some  of  them  were  not  so  married.  The  1923  figures  are  compar- 
able with  those  of  the  earlier  years,  the  requirement  of  the  Hawaiian  marriage  of  “picture  brides"  having 
been  restored. 


TABLE  H 

BIRTH  RATES  FOR  THE  PEOPLES  OF  HAWAII— 1920 


Number 

of 

Births  for 
Year  Ending 
June  30,  1920 

Number 

of 

Births  for 
Each  1,000 
Population 

Number  of 
Married 
Women  Under 
45  Yrs.  of  Age, 
Census  1920 

Number  of 
Births  to  each 
1,000  Married 
Women  Under 
45  Yrs.  of  Age 

Hawaiian  and  Part  Hawaiian  Com- 
bined   

1,866 

47.9 

6,302 

296.0 

Portuguese 

1,127 

45.4 

3,851 

292.6 

Porto  Rican 

265 

50.0 

780 

339.4 

Spanish 

116 

47.7 

336 

345.2 

Other  Caucasian 

374 

14.9 

2,487 

150.3 

Chinese 

661 

29.2 

2,005 

329.6 

Japanese 

4,963 

43.7 

19,204 

258.4 

Korean 

192 

36.9 

578 

332.1 

Filipino 

584 

24.9 

2,156 

270.8 

All  Other 

17 

28.3 

68 

250.0 

All  Races 

10,165 

39.0 

37,767 

269.1 

All  except  the  Japanese 

5,202 

35.0 

18,563 

280.1 

19 


rate  of  natural  increase  of  population.  The  death  rate  of 
the  Japanese  in  Hawaii,  considered  in  relation  to  age,  falls 
a little  below  the  average,  the  average  being  made  high  by 
the  exceptionally  high  rates  of  the  native  Hawaiian  and  the 
Filipino.  Because  of  these  exceptionally  high  death  rates, 
the  rate  of  normal  increase — the  rate  based  on  fecundity  and 
death  rates — for  the  two  races  is  low.  The  nationalities  are 
listed  as  follows  in  order  of  rate  of  normal  increase,  the  low- 
est first : 

(1)  American  and  North  European;  (2)  Filipino; 
(3)  Hawaiian  (including  part  Hawaiian);  (4)  Japanese;  (5) 
Portuguese;  (6)  Porto  Rican;  (7)  Spanish;  (8)  Korean;  (9) 
Chinese. 


V.  Future  Voting  Strength  of  the  Japanese 
in  Hawaii 

IT  has  been  predicted  that  the  Japanese  will  have  a majority 
or  near  majority  of  the  voters  by  1940.  This  is  improbable 
on  the  face  of  it,  since  they  constitute  at  present  only  40.4 
per  cent  of  the  population  and  the  percentage  is  diminishing. 
Moreover,  by  1940,  most  of  the  Japanese  men  and  women  over 
forty  years  old,  being  aliens,  will  not  be  eligible  to  natur- 
alization, while  nearly  all  of  the  other  people  over  forty  will 
be  either  native  born  or  foreign  born  eligible  to  naturaliza- 
tion— this  on  the  basis  of  present  laws  and  policies. 

It  is  not  possible  to  make  a close  estimate  of  the  voting 
strength  of  the  various  national  groups  in  1940  because  of  the 
number  of  factors  of  uncertainty,  chief  of  which  is  further 
immigration  and  emigration.  There  is  also  the  question  of 
whether  persons  eligible  to  naturalization  shall  seek  natur- 
alization and  whether  citizens  actually  exercise  their  right  to 
vote.  Because  wild  guesses,  some  of  them  purporting  to  be 
estimates  based  on  statistical  calculations,  have  been  given 
wide  publicity,  I am  venturing  to  make  an  estimate  of  the 
number  of  potential  voters  in  1941.  (See  Table  I.)  In  order 
to  indicate  my  method  to  a slight  extent.  I am  making  the 
estimate  by  stages. 

The  preliminary  estimate  of  column  one  is  based  on  the 
assumption  that  the  situation  will  not  be  modified  by  immi- 
gration or  emigration,  after  the  census  date  of  1920.  Under 
this  assumption  the  potential  voters  of  1941  will  be  all  of  the 
people  who  were  living  in  the  Territory  in  1920  and  who  will 
survive  till  1941,  except  certain  classes  excluded  by  law.  as 
follows : 


20 


(1)  Men  stationed  in  Hawaii  for  military  and  naval  serv- 
ice; (2)  Foreign  born  not  eligible  to  naturalization;  (3)  Native 
born  women  married  to  aliens  not  eligible  to  naturalization ; 
(4)  Illiterates;  (5)  Mental  incompetents.  There  is  a consider- 
able quantity  of  statistical  information  to  guide  the  estimate 
as  to  men  in  army  and  navy  service,  foreign  born  persons 
not  eligible  to  naturalization,  illiterates,  and  mental  incom- 
petents, and  as  to  death  rates,  so  that  this  estimate,  as  far 
as  it  goes,  should  not  be  far  from  accurate. 

In  the  second  column  I have  introduced  such  modifica- 
tions as  I have  thought  necessary  in  view  of  probable  im- 
migration and  emigration,  matters  of  much  greater  uncer- 
tainty. 

The  greatest  uncertainty  in  this  estimate  relates  to  the 
Filipinos.  (They  are  eligible  to  citizenship.)  The  estimate 
assumes  a continuation  of  existing  laws  and  labor  policies, 
but  the  planters  are  anxious  to  change  their  policy  if  they 
can  secure  a change  in  the  law  to  permit  the  importation  of 
Chinese  laborers.  In  the  event  of  their  securing  laborers  from 
China  or  from  some  other  country,  nearly  all  the  Filipinos 
might  return  to  their  native  land.  If  the  new  laborers  were 
aliens  ineligible  to  citizenship,  none  of  them  would  be  voters. 
But  the  coming  of  new  laborers  in  sufficient  numbers  to  sup- 
plant the  Filipinos  would  also  have  the  effect  of  accelerating 
the  movement  of  Hawaiian  born  Japanese  toward  the  main- 
land of  the  United  States. 

Even  if  all  the  Filipinos  leave  Hawaii,  I can  see  no  valid 
ground  for  the  view  that  the  Japanese  will  constitute  over 
28  per  cent  of  the  total  potential  voters  in  1941. 

A potential  voter  in  order  to  become  an  actual  voter  must 
register  and  cast  a vote.  If  foreign  born,  he  must  be  natur- 
alized. This  is  a matter,  not  of  counting  heads,  but  of  prac- 
tical conduct,  of  interest,  of  disposition.  At  ju'esent  most 
of  the  foreign  born  Spanish  and  Porto  Ricans  are  ineligible, 
being  illiterate,  and  their  children  are  nearly  all  minors.  The 
Filipinos  are  politically  minded,  but  they  have  not  yet  trans- 
ferred their  political  interest  to  Hawaii  and  so  very  few  have 
sought  naturalization.  The  disposition  toward  voting,  or  at 
least  toward  registration  for  voting  purposes,  may  be  meas- 
ured approximately  by  Table  J,  showing  the  percentage  of 
those  estimated  as  eligible  who  registered  for  the  regular 
November  election  in  1922. 

These  percentages  must  not  be  taken  to  indicate  the  dis- 
position of  the  voters  in  1941.  The  Americans,  Hawaiians  and 
Portuguese  have  had  larger  political  experience  and  they 
formulate  the  issues  and  policies  and  hold  the  offices.  The 
Chinese  and  Japanese  have  had  little  or  no  political  experience 


21 


TABLE  I 


ESTIMATED  NUMBER  OF  POTENTIAL  VOTERS 
IN  HAWAII  IN  1941 


National  Groups 

Preliminary  estimate  based  on 
the  assumption  that  the  situa- 
tion will  not  be  changed  by 
immigration  and  emigration 
after  the  census  date  1920 

Final  estimate  in  which 
allowance  is  made  for 
probable  immigration  and 
emigration 

Hawaiian  and 
part  Hawaiian  

20,000 

20,000 

Portuguese,  Spanish 
and  Porto  Rican  .... 

22,000 

20,000 

American  and 

North  European  .... 

11,200 

15,000 

Chinese  

11,500 

10,000 

Japanese  

44,000 

30,000 

Korean  

1,200 

800 

Filipinos  and  others... 

8,500 

40,000 

Total  

118,400 

135,800 

Per  cent  Japanese  .... 

37.1 

22.1 

TABLE  J 


Estimated 
Number  of 
Potential 
Voters 

Persons 
Registered 
for  Voting 
Purposes 

Per  cent  Registered 
of  Number 
of  Persons 
Estimated  as 
Having  the 
Right  to  Vote 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

Male 

Female 

Hawaiian  and  Part  Hawaiian 

9,840 

8,800 

9,543 

7,474 

96.9 

84.9 

Portuguese 

4,683 

3,711 

3,180 

1,032 

67.9 

27.8 

American 

3,925 

3,929 

3,738 

3,138 

95.2 

79.6 

Chinese 

2,139 

1,232 

1,285 

214 

60.0 

17.3 

Japanese 

1,428 

1,404 

1,014 

121 

71.0 

8.6 

22 


and  they  are  not  politically  minded.  Their  voting  is  more  a 
matter  of  ritual  than  of  practical  politics,  but  they  will  develop 
politically  with  experience.  The  present  indications  are  that 
they  will  be  conservatives  in  politics. 


VI.  The  Economic  Status  of  the  Japanese  in  Hawaii 

Most  of  the  foreign  born  Japanese  of  Hawaii  came  or  were 
brought  as  field  laborers  on  sugar  plantations.  A few  came 
as  business  or  professional  men.  Slowly  but  surely  the  labor- 
ers have  improved  their  economic  position  and  the  Hawaiian 
born  young  men  and  women  are  aiming  definitely  at  a still 
higher  economic  status.  Many  of  them  possess  the  industry, 
intelligence,  thrift  and  the  character  necessary  to  success  in 
this  effort.  Only  a few  statistical  facts  bearing  on  their 
economic  progress  will  be  cited. 

Forty-four  per  cent  of  the  women  were  employed  in  1910; 
only  30  per  cent  in  1920.  This  indicates  a lessening  need  for 
the  earnings  of  wives. 

The  men  are  leaving  plantation  labor  for  more  desirable 
occupations.  They  are  increasing  in  skilled  employments; 
2537  in  1910  and  4199  in  1920.  They  are  getting  out  of  oc- 
cupations of  little  dignity  and  the  blind  alley  occupations. 
They  are  entering  the  professions;  221  in  1910,  and  651  in 
1920.  Some  are  becoming  independent  business  men  ; 273  mer- 
chants in  1910  and  1150  in  1920.  There  are  numerous  Japa- 
nese small  contractors  and  a few  are  managing  enterprises 
of  considerable  magnitude.  In  reading  the  above  figures  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  whole  number  of  Japanese 
males,  both  native  and  foreign  born,  with  occupations  de- 
creased from  44,141  in  1910  to  39,582  in  1920. 

The  figures  of  the  Territorial  Assessor  also  indicate  moder- 
ate but  significant  progress.  In  1910  the  Japanese  paid  taxes 
on  real  and  personal  property  valued  at  $1,920,212,  or  1.27 
per  cent  of  the  total  valuation.  In  1922  their  property  was 
valued  at  $10,785,289  or  3.97  per  cent  of  the  total  valuation 
for  the  Territory. 


VII.  School  Attendance 

SCHOOL  attendance  through  the  elementary  grades  is  compulsory 
in  Hawaii.  High  school  and  college  attendance  is  optional  and 
so  it  measures  the  strength  of  the  desire  for  an  education  and 
the  ability  to  do  the  more  advanced  work.  In  the  case  of 
the  children  of  parents  with  small  income  it  also  measures 

23 


the  disposition  of  parents  to  make  sacrifices  for  their  children 
and  the  willingness  of  the  children  to  earn  their  way  through 
school.  Table  K based  on  data  in  the  census  of  1920  will 
enable  the  reader  to  compare  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese 
children  of  Hawaii  with  certain  classes  of  mainland  children. 


TABLE  K 

PERCENTAGE  OF  CHILDREN  IN  SCHOOL  IN  HAWAII  AND 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  CENSUS  1920 


Ages 

.411  Races 
in 

Hawaii 

.411  Races 
in  the 
I'nited 
States 

Chinese 

in 

Hawaii 

Native 
White 
Children 
of  Native 
Parents  in 
the  United 
States 

Japanese 

in 

Hawaii 

Native 
White 
Children 
of  Foreign 
Born 

Parents  in 
the  United 
States 

14-15  years  old 

77.1 

79.9 

91.1 

83.9 

77.0 

79.9 

16-17  years  old 

40.0 

42.9 

69.1 

4S.7 

35.1 

34.5 

18-20  years  old 

13.1 

14.8 

33.7 

17.5 

12.4 

11.9 

Note  the  extraordinarily  high  rate  of  attendance  of  the  Chinese  in  Hawaii,  and  that  the  rate 
for  the  Japanese  compares  very  favorablj'  with  the  mainland  rate  for  the  children  of  the  foreign 
born. 

High  school  and  college  attendance  is  largely  affected  by  convenience  of  location  of  homes  to 
schools  and,  in  the  case  of  the  children  of  the  foreign  born,  by  the  length  of  the  residence  of  the 
family  in  America.  The  Chinese  of  Hawaii  are  situated  mainly  in  cities  and  towns  and  the  Jap- 
anese in  rural  districts.  The  foreign  born  Chinese  have  lived  in  Hawaii,  on  the  average,  about 
twenty  years  longer  than  the  Japanese. 


24 


VIII.  Miscellaneous  Data 


IT  would  be  possible  to  submit  other  statistical  data  which 
would  reflect  the  social  character  of  the  Japanese  in  Hawaii, 
but  for  the  sake  of  brevity  I will  make  certain  statements  in  a 
non-statistical  way.  Some  are  based  on  official  statistics  and 
others  are  based  on  the  opinions  of  business  men  and  social 
workers. 

1.  In  Hawaii  there  are  four  national  groups  which  are 
superior  in  business  responsibility  and  credit,  and  four  which 
are  inferior.  The  Japanese  belong  to  the  superior  four.  Their 
credit  is  not  quite  so  good  as  that  of  the  Chinese.  Some  think 
that  this  is  explained  by  the  greater  length  of  experience  in 
Hawaii  of  the  Chinese  and  by  their  larger  capital ; others 
think  that  the  Chinese  are  by  nature  or  racial  tradition  supe- 
rior in  business  morality.  Much  Japanese  business  is  done 
with  insufficient  capital,  and  it  could  not  be  done  at  all  ex- 
cept for  the  credit  extended  by  wholesale  houses. 

2.  The  Territorial  prison  has  fewer  Japanese  relative  to 
population  than  it  has  of  any  other  group. 

3.  The  record  of  the  Japanese  as  to  conduct  prohibited 
by  the  Volstead  Act  is  not  good.  The  chance  to  make  easy 
money  is  too  great  a temptation. 

4.  The  various  relief  agencies  of  Honolulu  report  that 
comparatively  few  Japanese  apply  for  charitable  relief. 

5.  There  is  less  unemployment  among  the  Japanese  than 
among  some  of  the  other  racial  groups. 

6.  The  probation  officers  of  the  Juvenile  Court  do  not 
have  to  give  much  attention  to  Japanese  children. 

7.  Truancy  among  Japanese  children  is  rare. 

8.  Many  Japanese  boys  and  young  men  are  eager  to  use 
such  educational  opportunities  as  are  provided  by  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
night  schools  and  other  similar  agencies. 

9.  There  are  a few  Japanese  boys  17-20  years  old  who 
are  becoming  serious  problems,  primarily  to  their  parents. 
They  think  that  they  are  Americans  and,  hence,  superior  to 
their  parents.  They  are  like  the  American  “smart  Aleck,”  and 
they  want  to  spend  more  than  their  fair  share  of  the  family 
income  on  fine  clothes  and  amusements. 

10.  A considerable  number  of  the  boys  are  enlisted  in 
the  Boy  Scout  movement  and  if  there  were  enough  leaders 
the  numbers  could  be  increased. 


25 


11.  The  Japanese  students  in  the  University  compare 
favorably  with  the  students  of  other  races;  a few  superior 
students,  many  about  average,  and  a few  of  inferior  quality. 
Their  social  and  political  views  are  distinctly  conservative  in 
character — more  conservative  than  the  average  for  students 
in  the  universities  of  the  United  States. 


26 


1 


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